Ready mixes, instant food, Ready to Cook/ Eat (RTC/RTE) …..The market shelves both offline and online are loaded with these products…tempting pictures, attractive packaging, and high-end pricing.. all of which has attracted several in today’s times. Nuclear Families, hectic careers, and mental tirelessness combined with the guilt of family nourishment are some of the reasons for the rise of the convenience food industry. The limitations of this industry are several and the end product stands no comparison to the fresh home-cooked dishes.
Foodialogues in its next series brings to you the recipes of its tried, tested, and standardized ready mixes of traditional dishes. A little tweak to your taste, a few slices of fresh vegetables, a hot tempering, a dash of garnish …..and lo.. your delicious food is already. Easy to prepare with basic cooking techniques and without an iota of chemical preservatives or colours.
The series begins with the Instant Sambhar Mix. Visit my blog for the recipe which can make instant aromatic sambhar with vegetables of your choice, a one-pot sambhar rice, bisebelebhath, arachuvitta sambhar, and Kadamba saadam. A Wonder pack to carry with you on your travel trips. A comfort pack for your children abroad and a convenience pack for all homemakers who want quick cooking.
INSTANT SAMBAR READY MIX RECIPE:
Ingredients for Instant Sambar Ready Mix:
To dry roast:
- Coriander Seeds/Dhania – 50g / 1/4 Std Cup
- Red Chilly Long/Gundu Variety – 50 G/ 1/4 Std Cup
- Kashmiri Red Chilly 6 Long
- Red Gram Dal/Tuvar Dal/Tuvaram Parrupu 200g /1 Std Cup
- Bengal Gram Dal /Channa Dal/Kadala Parrupu 2 Tbsp /30 G
- Black Gram Dal /Urad Dal/Uluntham Parrupu 1 Tbsp/ 15 G
- Fenugreek Seeds/ Methi/Vendayam 1 Tsp
- Pepper /Kali Mirch/Milagu 1 Tsp
- Idly rice 2 tsp
- Dry Curry Leaves a Handful
- Tamarind in a big lemon-sized ball
Tempering:
- Oil 2 tsp
- Mustard seeds 1 tsp
- Fenugreek seeds 1 tsp
- Asafoetida 2 tsp
Preparation Method:
- Dry roast all ingredients in the order given below. Take care not to burn any of the ingredients as it will affect the taste.
- Coriander seeds -Roast till aromatic
- Chilly – Roast carefully till you can smell the pungency. Do not burn or allow it to turn black.
- All dals till they become golden brown
- Pepper, and fenugreek till fenugreek turn light brown
- Idly rice till it turns chalky white
- Curry leaf till crisp
- Tamarind till it turns slightly dry
- Cool all ingredients. Pulverise to a fine powder. Spread it to cool.
- Take oil in a tempering pan. Heat, splutter mustard, fenugreek, and asafoetida, and pour over the powder. Mix well and store the dry powder in an airtight jar. You can pack it in Ziplock bags but ensure that you press out the air if the pouch is not fully filled.
Note: Turmeric is not added to the instant mix. You can add it while cooking.
USE OF THE INSTANT SAMBAR MIX:
- 200ml water to 3 tbsp of the mix. Combine it well with a whisk or fork.
- Take a boiling pan and add the diluted mix, required salt, a pinch of turmeric, and boiled vegetables
depending on your choice. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes. - Remove and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with idly, dosa, vada, or hot steamed rice.
Note:
Adjust the dilution to your taste. You can add more of the mix if required.
1. For onion sambar -sauté the onions to light pink and add to the boiling mixture.
2. For Arachuvitta sambar -take a tablespoon of coconut gratings,1 red chilly and ½ tsp of cumin seeds/ jeera and grind to a smooth paste. Add the paste to the boiling sambhar.
3. For one pot sambar rice – Take half a cup of raw rice. Wash and add 450-500 ml of water. Mix in 3 tbsps. of the mix, required half-cooked vegetables and salt. Cook till the rice is done. Drizzle ghee and garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot. Adjust the quantity of water depending on the water absorption of the rice. What has been given here is for normal aged rice which is cooked in 1: 3 ratio.
4. For Kadamba Saadam – Dry roast 1 tbsp of coconut grated,1/2 tsp of jeera, and 1/ 2tsp of pepper. Grind toa fine powder and mix with the powder to the one pot sambhar rice. Drizzle a spoon of sesame /gingelly oil over the rice.
5. For BiseBele bhath – Take 2 cloves, 1-inch piece of cinnamon,1/2 tsp of cumin,1 tbsp of copra or coconut grated, 1 pod of cardamom 2 Kashmiri red chilly. Dry roast and powder. Mix with the one-pot sambhar rice. Drizzle some ghee and serve hot.
